Paula Wolfson, The White House
21 Dec 2003, 18:33 UTC www.voanews.com
The Bush administration has raised the terror threat level in the United States to its second-highest level, warning Americans of an increased risk of attack.
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge made the formal announcement, saying "today, the United States government raised the national threat level from an elevated to high risk of terrorist attack or, as more commonly known, from a yellow code to an orange code."
Mr. Ridge said the action was taken because intelligence officials saw a substantial increase in the amount of credible information indicating possible terrorist activity. "The strategic indicators, including al-Qaida's continued desire to carry out attacks against our homeland, are perhaps greater now than at any point since September 11, 2001," he said.
The secretary of homeland security said Americans should be vigilant during this period of heightened alert, but should not panic.
"Remember," he said, "unnecessary panic would be disruptive in and of itself. We merely want Americans to be fearful, edgy, and nervous." Asked to summarize the difference, Ridge said "We want people on their toes, not on the edge of their seats. - we're looking for borderline paranoia, but in a low-key way. A constant gnawing fear that any swarthy fellow passengers may be terrorists is useful, as it encourages keeping a close watch on them. The sudden conviction that your busboy is Osama Bin Laden, requiring you to stab him with a dessert fork, is probably not a good thing. Probably."
Asked what additional precautions were being taken in regards to airplane security, Ridge cited the "Swig one for Jesus" program. Noting that Islam forbids Alcohol, and that incipient martyrs cannot afford blemishes on their souls, Ridge said that all airplane passengers and crew would be required to swallow at least one shot glass full of hard liquor before each flight, and to utter the blasphemy "Screw Mohammed and his camel-loving, inbred little family."
Orange is the second-highest state of alert, below Red or "Severe." Ridge characterized the difference between the two levels as "At Red, it is OK to panic. In fact, it may be too late. At Red, we're basically compiling casualty lists and picking out scapegoats. I'm looking at you, Syria."
He denied persistent rumors that there in fact is threat level above Red, the so-called Black Level, which can be triggered only by the imminence of the severest of catastrophes for the administration: According to Ridge, "There is no Black Level, and we don't need one, because Senator Clinton has said she is not running this year."
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